All posts tagged ‘MIT’

“If it ain’t broken don’t fix it.” But that’s the problem with the future: It is broken somewhere for someone. Corrigan Bain is a fixer, though, and he’s compelled to change that, no matter what.

I am a huge fan of Gene Doucette’s writing. Of course, that probably goes without saying, seeing as how I have reviewed three of his novels, including the one in this article. As with Immortal and its sequel Hellenic Immortal, Fixer is at its core about its characters. I mean, sure, it heaps on the story, but the characters are very real, their interactions believable and fluid.

If you have any interest in robotics, electronics, and DIY gadgetry, you already know what a CNC machine is. If, however, that particular acronym means nothing to you, then this Wikipedia article will give you a quick introduction to “Computer Numerical Control” machine tools. Basically, a CNC machine is a computer-controlled machine that moves a cutting tool in 2 or 3 dimensions, facilitating the creation of precise and elaborate designs in materials such as plastic, wood, foam, metal, paper, etc.

Industrial CNC machines can easily run into the thousands of dollars, but there exists an army of DIY-ers out there who have been building their own CNC machines on the cheap. The DIY CNC community is like any other open-source community out there in that they freely share expertise, advice, and designs.

One of the more interesting CNC machines I’ve come across is the MTM Snap from the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms. The MTM Snap is made from high-density polyethylene and, as the name suggests, simply snaps together like Lego. The projected cost for the entire rig, including stepper motors, Arduino, motor controllers, and power supply is about $500 USD, which is pretty reasonable for a good quality hobbyist CNC device. The Snap is a little small compared to other CNC designs, but still very useful for projects which are not overly ambitious in scope. As well, the snap-together design eliminates a lot of the hassle traditionally associated with CNC construction.

To get an idea of what the Snap can do, check out the demo video:

If you’re interested in CNC hardware but the price tag on a Snap is still too rich for you, it’s definitely possible to Frankenstein something very functional out of old printers and other junk hardware. There are plenty of resources on the Internet to draw upon for this, including the following:

Sometime in the future, you are going to die. Depending on how old you are at the moment, I might be right there with you, wherever we go (if anywhere) when we die. But this isn’t a conversation about what happens after we die, because that would take a tome of arguments and beliefs to even think about coming to some sort of agreement. Rather, this is a conversation of what happens before you die — specifically, keeping yourself from dying. The Optimist’s Tour of the Future takes a long journey around the world, delving into the most radical and outlying theories on prolonging life, the future of the Earth and technology, and even climate change. Author Mark Stevenson is hopeful for the future of humanity, but admits (and readily researches) that a lot of things need to happen proactively for humanity to have a chance going into the unknown.

The Optimist’s Tour of the Future tosses you right into the fray with talk of “transhumanism.” Basically, transhumanism is a movement, a theory, that seeks to prolong our life here on Earth utilizing modern gains in technology in order for us to fight aging and live forever. It’s a very interesting theory, with a lot of plot holes. For instance, in one section Stevenson went to talk to a group of intellectuals who don’t believe that transhumanism might be possible, but that it is (or soon will be) and are planning as such. He noted they were all smoking after a lecture, the reason being is that most of them believe that all their problems will be fixed when it comes to merging technology and humanity. Of course, they might want to start saving for those new lungs now. As evidenced in the sci-fi/fantasty Repo Men, new organs aren’t cheap. That was fiction, but at this point, so is transhumanism. Continue Reading “GeekDad Book Review: The Optimist’s Tour of the Future” »

Launching April 4th, the Smithsonian Institution and MIT are teaming up to debut an unprecedented online/offline science fiction-based mystery event for kids 11-14! Entitled Vanished, the event is an interactive mystery that taps into the pop culture/science phenomena, providing tweens and young teens the opportunity to become real-life scientific investigators and collect and follow the evidence to solve a case of epic proportions.

Vanished is a first-of-its-kind episodic quest where participants are transformed into principal investigators who must race against time to solve games, puzzles and other online challenges, visit real world museums and collect samples from their own neighborhoods to help unlock the secrets of this innovative mystery. Museums nationwide have come together to provide dynamic real world investigative experiences for participants. Throughout the course of this event, participants will also have access to some of the top scientific minds of our time across diverse disciplines such as astrophysics, paleobiology, forensic anthropology and entomology via videoconference office hours to help unlock the mystery.

I recently had a chance to take a virtual tour of the Vanished event. It is very impressive! I wanted to sign up and play along with the kids, but adults are only allowed to observe — no interactions. This answers many questions some parents may have about letting their kids online to communicate in the new game community. Online monitoring is provided by MIT; you can’t get safer than that. The game will play much like a weekly television series, like a real life “Lost.” This will even include a weekly big reveal, if the kids can solve the mystery of the week, that is…

This exciting program is designed to show kids that science is not just about memorizing tables or remembering facts; it is about solving problems, exploring and creative thinking. The kids will get achievements awarded and praise in in-game news articles, but they will also get a feel for real forensic science. The MIT students who will be acting as mentors to the players will receive course credit and many have signed on just for the learning experience.

Sign-ups have already started for the April 4th launch! Visit Vanished to get registered. All screenshots provided by MIT and the Smithsonian.

Every year, women in MIT’s Graduate School design and teach a summer program aimed at High School girls. The Women’s Technology Program (WTP) hosts 60 High School seniors for a four week residential summer program. During the program the girls will explore engineering through hands on classes, labs and team projects. There are two programs to choose from. The Electrical Engineering/Computer Science program will have 40 students and the Mechanical Engineering program will have 20 students.

Applications for the 2010 Summer Program are due on January 15th 2010. Young women in the 11th Grade that are interested in the program should visit the Women’s Technology Program web site and download the application. Please note that applicants must be US citizens and ready to work hard and play hard.

I’m always keen to get my kids into video gaming, although I’m not sure why. Perhaps because of this, I was really taken by a story told by a friend (@Pixelh8) who reviews games on Game People with me. He tells of how a simple programming language (MIT’s Processing) and a little bit of Dad time, turned his kids into budding programmers. I thought you’d like to hear about it to0…

I like sharing my work projects with the kids and they are always more than inquisitive to find out what I am doing. After a long day out with mum, they wandered in to find me still working late on a complex program problem. Recently I’ve taken to using a MIT developed programming language called Processing to help explain things to these young curious minds.

A few minutes after staring at the screen one of my girls (7) started giggling and asked what I was doing. After reading the code she thought I was writing a very strange email to some one about these things called “x” and “y” and “rect.” I explained this was programming and it allowed me to control the computer. But of course more and more questions started coming out about what does “int,” “if” and “do” mean. Continue Reading “Teaching Your Kids To Be Programmers” »